The Boy with the Pikachu
by Princess-of-Neverland
Summary: Set after 'Battling The Bully' Ash becomes the inspiration of a young wannabe trainer


**The Boy with the Pikachu**

**A/N: Ready for a massive shock?...I don't own Pokemon *gasp***

**Summary: Just a fluffy idea on why Mick never had any Pokemon to battle with and his reaction after meeting Ash**

"Dad! Dad! Dad!"

Mick tore into the kitchen with a euphoric grin that had both his parents blinking. Their boy hadn't looked this happy in ages. Not since that wretched Glen had come to

town. Since then Mick and his father hadn't exactly seen eye to eye.

When Mick had told his father about what Glen was doing, he had been under the impression his father would sympathise and let Mick borrow one of his Pokémon that

he had caught in his younger days. However, as a trainer his father had learnt that there were many different kinds of people and not all of them treated Pokémon

well. It sounded as if this Glen kid would grow up to be one of those people.

Shawn's father had confided in both Mick's parents on more than one occasion that, although he was eager for his son to learn about battling, Shawn kept returning

his Pokémon injured and dejected. Mick's father did not want any of his Pokémon to feel like that. They were his allies. They were his friends. They were his family.

Explaining this to Mick had broken his boy's heart and left him alone.

"What's up sweetie?"

The woman beside him had stopped scrubbing the dishes in favour of listening to her son. He didn't realise he had zoned out and as usual his wife had needed to

intervene. He felt guilty as his son directed his attentions to her. His bespectacled eyes were shining with excitement that he wished dearly was directed at him.

"I met the most amazing trainer today!" his son beamed enthusiastically.

"Really?"

It was probably just some beginner but he listened anyway.

"Yeah. His name was Ash. He was from the Kanto region!" Mick continued excitedly

"The Kanto region? That's awfully far away!" his wife looked impressed

"Yeah and he had this really cool Pokémon called a Pikachu with him!"

A Pikachu eh?

"Ash. You know that name sounds oddly familiar" Mick's mother mused.

"Huh?"

He put down his newspaper unable to feign disinterest any longer.

"Brandon mentioned him"

Both his wife and son turned to him in shock at his sudden contribution to the conversation. He met his son's eye.

"Brandon mentioned a boy named Ash with a trusty Pikachu who came from Pallet" he said calmly

"Where's Pallet?" Mick finally addressed his father

"It's a small town in the Kanto region. Brandon, being a frontier brain, spends much of his time in Kanto" He answered his son.

Mick's father had only been there once during his travels as a young boy when he had taken an unintentional detour when trying to get to the Viridian Gym. However,

the quaint town still resonated with him as he remembered the smiley faces of the people wandering quietly through the town.

"So why did Brandon mention him?" Mick pressed eagerly.

His wife excused herself with a smile at the conversation between her son and husband.

"He's won a few tournaments. Anything from a local festival to winning the Orange League. Oh and he beat the Kanto Battle

Frontier"

Mick's jaw dropped.

"The boy beat him with a Charizard, Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Pikachu" His father continued with a slight smirk.

"I only saw a Tepig and Pikachu" Mick began to look disappointed.

"He has others. I saw him when I watched the Sinnoh League on the television" his father pointed out.

"He was in the Sinnoh League? Did he win?" Mick grabbed his hand with starry eyes.

"No…..but I will never forget that battle between him and that purple haired kid…"

The fire in that boy's eyes was unmistakable. Each blow to his Pokémon only increasing the strength of will shared between him and his Pokemon. There was a pride

within both trainer and Pokemon, to be fighting side by side as one unit. The purple haired kid was strong and not going down without a fight but his robot relationship

between him and his Pokémon meant that, even at the tensest moments when Ash's Pokémon were knocked down like bowling pins, Mick's father knew Ash would

win.

"Do you really think it's the same guy?" Mick asked in a hushed tone.

"I can't imagine there are many kids called Ash, who are from Pallet and ended up with a Pikachu as a starter" he replied with a small smile.

"Wow! That's so cool!" Mick squealed.

'Wow' was actually the best word Mick's father could think of to describe as well. His battles had been as electric as his Pikachu.

"So how did you meet him?" curiosity brimming over "He let me borrow his Pikachu to battle Glen and Shawn" Mick beamed

His father grimaced.

"But then it ended up being a two on two so a Krockorock with weird sunglasses came to help me out" Mick was oblivious to his

father's concern as he continued his story. "I was really nervous but I remembered something he told me"

A whimsical expression passed over Mick's face much to his father's surprise and intrigue. He wondered what intricate explanation could have resonated with his son

so deeply. Was it a secret wisdom? A story of Ash's own experiences as a trainer?

A lesson on different types of Pokémon?

"What was it?" he had to know

"That whether its battling or training Pokémon I should do it all with my heart"

Mick's response made his father gobsmacked. It was nothing complex or arrogant. Ash Ketchum had given Mick the inspiration to see beyond the battle itself. This

knowledge that Ash had imparted was what separated the good trainers from the bad: their heart.

"Did you win?" he had a hunch about the answer

"I did. I battled with my heart. I won and not in the way Glen does. I battled with my heart"

Mick was bursting with pride as his father smiled. Little did Mick know that it wasn't the win that had made his father happy; it

was why he had won: battling with his heart.

"I'm sorry dad" Mick became suddenly meek.

"For what?" his father asked in surprise

"I didn't really get it until I saw Ash battle that Krockorock….remember how I told you it wore weird sunglasses? Well when Pikachu accidently knocked them off during

the fight Krockorock totally freaked out. So Ash had it stop attacking. I didn't get it because it would have been the perfect opportunity to beat Krockorock but Ash said

he wanted the fight to be fair".

Not many trainers would have done that. Mick's father was forced to consider whether or not even he would have done that. Ash didn't go around saving the world,

fighting for the lives of Pokemon, stopping evil organisations or fighting Legendary Pokémon. That didn't stop him from being a truly inspirational trainer.

"Come tomorrow I'll be ten, man, when I go and see Professor Juniper. I know now that Pokémon aren't tools. I'm going to be friends with them all. I'm going to be

just like Ash. The boy with the Pikachu…"

**A/N: So did anyone get the witty comment on Ash saving the world countless times and NOBODY ever noticing?**

**Anyway:**

**Read & Review**


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